Woman's Life in Colonial Days. Carl Holliday
and Frivolity
XIII. The Beauty of Philadelphia Women
XVI. Strange Customs in Louisiana
IV. The Banns and the Ceremony
VIII. Marriage in Pennsylvania
XIII. Matrimonial Irregularities
XIV. Violent Speech and Action
COLONIAL WOMAN AND THE INITIATIVE
IV. Patriotic Initiative and Courage
PREFACE
This book is an attempt to portray by means of the writings of colonial days the life of the women of that period—how they lived, what their work and their play, what and how they thought and felt, their strength and their weakness, the joys and the sorrows of their everyday existence. Through such an attempt perhaps we can more nearly understand how and why the American woman is what she is to-day.
For a long time to come, one of the principal reasons for the study of the writings of America will lie, not in their intrinsic merit alone, but in their revelations of American life, ideals, aspirations, and social and intellectual endeavors. We Americans need what Professor Shorey has called "the controlling consciousness of tradition." We have not sufficiently regarded the bond that connects our present institutions with their origins in the days of our forefathers. That is one of the main purposes of this study, and the author believes that through contributions of such a character he can render the national intellectual spirit at least as valuable a service as he could through